March 16, 2008
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Eliot Spitzer - 3/16
Tough call this week. We have Eliot Spitzer with his sexcapade, then Geraline Ferraro and her untimely comment about Obama only being where he is because of the color of his skin, and then there is O.I.L. whose concern for the economy in his speech in NY this week was laughable (NYT).
So who wins? I would say that we can eliminate O.I.L. This is nothing new. It is not like we should be surprised by his idiotic comments, or his lack of responsibility. It is second nature to the guy. Geraldine is a big story, but I don't think it is as seismic as Eliot's. Yes, what she said was stupid, and sure it got a lot of play, but she is a small figure in the campaign without significant impact.
Eliot, on the other hand, is rather special. Describe by many as arrogant, self-righteous and smart, it is quite something to see the Governor of the second largest state fumble so blatantly. Of course, I should would love to know what is going on in the head of his wife.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:06 PM | Comments (0)
April 9, 2007
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 4/8 - Don Imus
There is no question that this week's winner of Political Sports Fabulous Fumble of the Week is Don Imus for his racist comments of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. (AP)
Two of the nation's biggest media companies - CBS Corp. and NBC Universal - will ultimately decide the fate of Imus' daily program after he referred last week to members of the Rutgers women's basketball team as "nappy-headed hos."
I admit that I listen to Imus on a regular basis. I find him interesting, complex, exasperating and problematic. I find myself turning him off, disgusted with his attacks, but I always turn him back on, usually targeting the precise times when he has guests, which usually run at 8 and 35 minutes after each hour. He and his cohorts often walk a very fine line with regard to political correctness. Don and Bernie seldom hold back while skewering of social, cultural and racial stereotypes. Most of their barbs attack more left oriented positions, but the right is not spared. In this case I feel he stepped out of bounds. It will be interesting to see if he manages to hold onto his job.
Posted by Chip Spear at 5:11 PM
August 6, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 8/5 - Condi
Ah, Condi, how we love you. We love how you studied the great masters of double-speak. With graciousness and sincerity that only a blind man sees, Condi wants to solve the most perplexing issue of our time, hatred and prejudice in the Middle East, by only talking to people who are basically on our side. Then she has the audacity to state how important it is to support democracy in Lebanon, Israel and Iraq, when she represents an administration that has been repeatedly described as imperial. It is an administration that has been in overdrive to deny people the ability to vote (Ohio - 2004), has worked in the courts to stop vote counts (Florida - 2000) and has done absolutely everything in its power to gerrymander districts to ensure Republican victories. Yes, democracy, isn't it wonderful? Condi you deserve this week's Fabulous Fumble of the Week.
Posted by Chip Spear at 4:14 PM
June 7, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 6/6 - Ann Coulter
Unfortunately I can't link to the story or the exact quote, but you can find it on Huffington Post regarding the 9/11 widows making money off their dead husbands. (Rank alert!) This woman should be thrown in a trash can.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:17 PM
May 22, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 5/22 - Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert wins this week's Fabulous Fumble of the Week Award for his statement on taxes. (TP)
Well, folks, if you earn $40,000 a year and have a family of two children, you don't pay any taxes. So you probably, if you don't pay any taxes, you are not going to get a very big tax cut.
Yes, Dennis, you sure fumbled there. It is nice to know that we have a Speaker of the House who is so in touch with the American public.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:20 PM | Comments (6)
May 16, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 5/15 - John Negroponte
My entry below explains why John Negroponte is this weeks Fabulous Fumble of the Week winner. On Monday last week, John insisted that the NSA was not tracking or tapping domestic phone calls. On Thursday, USA Today reported that the NSA had been monitoring the phone records of millions of Americans. Given past statements and actions by the administration this is not unsurprising, however it still wins him this week's award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
May 8, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 3/6 - OIL
Our Illustrious Leader (OIL), G. W. Bush, wins this week's Fabulous Fumble Award. I was going to give it to Paula Zahn for her interview with former CIA agent Ray McGovern. (CNN)
Zahn: Did you go to this speech today with the intent of challenging Secretary Rumsfeld?
MCGOVERN: I had no predetermined objectives. I just wanted to see what he had to say. But I did get very motivated when the first lady was ejected from -- from the -- from the crowd.
Zahn: How much of an ax do you have to grind with Secretary Rumsfeld?
MCGOVERN: It's not a matter of axes to grind. It's a matter of telling the truth. And we pledged, in my day at the CIA, to tell it without fear or favor, to tell it like it is. And, when I see that corrupted, that is the real tragedy of this whole business.
Zahn: There was a point where it appeared as though you were going to get kicked out ... Donald Rumsfeld encouraged whoever I think had their hands on you at the time to let you stay there. Does he get any credit for that today?
MCGOVERN: At first, I thought, well, that was rather gracious. But, then I got to thinking, I was not abusing the privilege. I was simply asking pointed questions. And for the national TV audience to see me carted away for asking Rumsfeld to explain what any objective observer would call a lie, that wouldn't have been good P.R. So, yes, I'm glad he let me stay. But I think it was for self- interested reasons.
Paula should have read Rumsfeld's original statement, which was very specific about WMD, but she didn't, she basically attacked McGovern for raising the question and confronting the Secretary of Defense. Bad job Paula.
Despite that wonderful fumble, President Bush wins hands down for his statement to a German newspaper. (Reuters)
U.S. President George W. Bush told a German newspaper his best moment in more than five years in office was catching a big perch in his own lake.
"You know, I've experienced many great moments and it's hard to name the best," Bush told weekly Bild am Sonntag when asked about his high point since becoming president in January 2001.
"I would say the best moment of all was when I caught a 7.5 pound (3.402 kilos) perch in my lake," he told the newspaper in an interview published on Sunday.
The most powerful man on the planet, every day has the ability to do so much good and he thinks that his best moment is catching a fish. Okay.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:58 AM | Comments (0)
May 1, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 5/1 - Condi Rice
We, here at Political Sports, had a very rough time determining this week's winner of our Fabulous Fumble Award. John Bolton almost won for his statement on the Sunday pundit shows that the high gas prices were the result of conditions created over the past few decades. That was funny. That is certainly true, but it doesn't hint at the almost criminal neglect of the administration on not addressing the problem.
There was Dennis Hastert leaving a meeting on energy policy in a hydrogen car then switching to an SUV when he thought he escaped reporters. That was a good drop.
Of course, we have the erupting Republican sex scandal.
And our continuing Washington soap opera star, Cynthia McKinney, Congresswoman from Georgia, known for her recent altercation in the Capitol, was caught on an open mike referring to one of her aides as a "fool". When she discovered her error she demanded that the press not use the remark.
Despite all those great flubs, we felt that Condi Rice won the award for her remarksat a NATO meeting:
"The Security Council is the primary and most important institution for the maintenance of peace and stability and security, and it cannot have its word and its will simply ignored by a member state," Condi said after a NATO meeting on Thursday.
Considering the attitude and actions of the U.S. toward the U.N. prior to the Iraq invasion, you can only laugh at such audacity. She was actually trying to be seriuos too. Condi, congratulations on winning this week's award!
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:28 AM | Comments (1)
April 28, 2006
Hastert Fumbles
Dennis Hastert, Speaker of the House, left a news conference on gas prices in a politically correct hydrogen car, but changed to his politically incorrect SUV when he thought he had escaped reporters. (AP) Sorry.....
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:45 AM | Comments (2)
April 24, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 4/10 - The FBI & CIA
Sometimes you can only shake your head in disbelief and wonder about life. Here we are in the middle of a war against Muslim extremists. Plus there is that "other" little excursion into Iraq. Osama is wandering around, ostensibly in the mountains of Afghanistan or Pakistan. We don't know where, though he keeps producing tapes calling for our destruction. And what is the FBI doing? They are trying to get ahold of the papers of Jack Anderson, a now dead columnist who exposed numerous government foul-ups. The FBI wants to examine over 180 boxes of material to see what he knew. Most of that material is from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Talk about a waste of time. Considering the state of the country and the current war is this really worth it?
And what about our spooky agency? These days they are busy giving lie detector tests to their employees. Intent on stopping any leaks that might expose illegal government activities like secret prisons, the CIA is spending time and energy doing the White House's bidding. Too bad they don't wander into the White House to see who might be leaking false information to expose real agents and slander real citizens who provide hard facts about non-existent WMD that conflict with the Administration's agenda. Maybe they should try to find Osama, what do you think?
So, rather than give this week's Award to one person, we present our Fabulous Fumble of this week to two agencies, the FBI and CIA. Congratulations.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:26 PM | Comments (3)
April 11, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 4/10
Not even close. Before the White House leak blew onto the scene I was sure the flap with Cynthia McKinney would win, but the revelation that the President declassified documents for political purposes without going through normal procedures or notifying anyone other than Cheney and a couple of others on his staff was too much to ignore. The President and White House win this week's award in a walk.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:43 AM | Comments (1)
March 27, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 3/27
This week's winner of our Fabulous Fumble of the Week Award goes to former First Lady Barbara Bush. Despite stiff competition from the Afghan government for "allowing" a man who converted from Islam to Christianity to be put on trial and face execution, and Michael Chertoff, who now, four and one-half years after 9/11, advocates a security program for the chemical industry but only provides minimal safeguards, we feel that Barbara's Katrina relief donation takes the cake. She specified that her donation end up with a software company run by her son that provides educational programming for schools. Barbara really dropped the ball there. Congratulations Barbara for winning this week's award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 6:33 PM | Comments (2)
March 22, 2006
More Fumbles Than We Imagined
Reports surfaced that the U.S. ignored information provided by one of Saddam's inner circle stating that he did not have any nukes. (MSNBC)
Now NBC News has learned that for a short time the CIA had contact with a secret source at the highest levels within Saddam Hussein’s government, who gave them information far more accurate than what they believed. It is a spy story that has never been told before, and raises new questions about prewar intelligence.
At this point it should not be the least bit surprising that the information was ignored. It falls into a pattern that the Administration did not care about the veracity of their claims of WMD. They were going to war.
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:53 PM | Comments (1)
March 15, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 3/13 Claude Allen and Carla Martin
Both of these were too big to ignore and we here at Political Sports found it impossible to decide which was bigger. Carla Martin, a lawyer for the TSA, was found responsible for coaching witnesses in the 9/11 trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. As a result, the witnesses will not be allowed to testify, thus endangering the success of the government's case. The Washington Post reports:
The decision guts the case that prosecutors had been building in their attempt to have Moussaoui executed for the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
Legal experts said it devastated the prosecution's main argument -- that if Moussaoui had not lied to the FBI about his knowledge of the Sept. 11, 2001, plot, the hijackings could have been prevented. The witnesses are airline security experts who would have testified about the measures the government would have taken had the truth been told.
Claude Allen the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and a nominee to 4th Circuit Court of Appeals before he resigned to "spend more time with his family" last month. He had also been the coordinator for the post-Katrina mess. It now turns out that he was accused of multiple instances of shoplifting, for items amounting to $5000. This is a young man who some on the right considered to be the next Clarence Thomas. Wow! (TimesDispatch)
Claude A. Allen, the former White House aide charged with two theft counts, admitted to a store investigator that he made fraudulent returns of merchandise he hadn't bought, according to police records.
The admission came after an incident Jan. 2 at a Target store in Gaithersburg, Md., when a store investigator had apprehended Allen, according to the police statement supporting criminal charges.
The police statement, contained in court files, also alleged that fraudulent refunds by Allen over time potentially added up to more than $5,000 and that he was captured on video in six incidents between Oct. 29 and Jan. 2.
For their fumbling efforts they are co-winners of this week's award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 9:26 AM | Comments (0)
March 6, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - 3/6 - OIL
At first I thought that former President Clinton might win this week's award when I learned that he advised Dubai Ports World on navigating the various agencies to ensure they would indeed get the ports deal, however he was pushed out of the way by Our Illustrious Leader by the sheer numbers of fumbles. We first have the Dubai Ports deal, which is rather amazing. We have a President who is warning us about every 5 minutes that terrorists are coming to get us. He knows that we have serious problems with port security. He has not provided enough money to take care of this, which is no secret, even to him. Mid-level bureaucrats make this decision, unbeknownst to him,which he supports without even seriously reviewing it, and threatens to veto any attempt by Congress to block the decision. I don't necessarily disagree with this, but if the company takes over the ports and there is an attack the country is going to appear so dumb somebody will have to invent a whole new category of stupidness.
The second fumble was the aftermath of the release of OIL (Our Illustrious Leader) assuring Brownie and his minions that he was going to do whatever necessary to help New Orleans. Now granted, this actually happened at the end of August, but we did not learn about it until last week, so we are considering it a "last week fumble". Nothing like getting caught in some serious fibbing. "No one expected,.....blah, blah, blah"
And number three, OIL signing an nuclear agreement with India. Some may disagree, but remember that India has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Bush's technology transfer is considered illegal by many experts under the terms of the agreement. Here OIL has basically said F U to the Treaty. He sets a bad precedent by not complying when it suits his political purposes. How can he honestly condemn Iran for not abiding by nuclear agreements when he won't do it either? Maybe it is one of those cases of "do as I say, not as I do."
Congratulations to OIL for winning this week's award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:54 PM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Feb. 20th - Michael Chertoff
This week's winner was a hard one to decide, really. There was the actual sports fumble, when Lindsey Jacobellis lost a gold medal making a hot dog move in the Snowboard Cross event. And Bryant Gumble amused us with his politically incorrect statement on his show Real Sports with Bryant Gumble on HBO:
"Finally, tonight, the Winter Games. Count me among those who don't like them and won't watch them ... Because they're so trying, maybe over the next three weeks we should all try too. Like, try not to be incredulous when someone attempts to link these games to those of the ancient Greeks who never heard of skating or skiing. So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention. Try not to point out that something's not really a sport if a pseudo-athlete waits in what's called a kiss-and-cry area, while some panel of subjective judges decides who won... So if only to hasten the arrival of the day they're done, when we can move on to March Madness - for God's sake, let the games begin."
Nothing like a little politically incorrect comment to spice up the award race.
Then we had a decision by District Court Judge David Trager dismissing a lawsuit by Maher Arar, a completely innocent Canadian citizen seized at JFK airport, flown to Syria, tortured, and held in a prison for almost a year. The judge said it did not matter how badly he had been treated or how the government behaved. He might have been killed and it would not matter. The government was not accountable because of the need for secrecy in the war on terror. Gee, good thing it wasn't you or me that was grabbed. And it makes me wonder if kidnapping and torture are fine, what isn't?
However, we had something even bigger and better to consider. This week's award, after much thought, analysis and plan old gut feelings goes to whoever made the brilliant decision to turn security of 6 of the country's biggest ports, including NYC, over to a company based in the United Arab Emirates. No one knows the direct relationships here, but the U.A.E. was the base for at least a couple of the 9/11 hijackers. The U.A.E. also has known connections to Al Qaeda. That doesn't make the company complicit in anything, but it sure looks terrible. One would think that the U.S. would protect its own ports, instead of turning them over to a Muslim company. Just think of the fallout if by some chance any of these ports are attacked by Al Qaeda and we find a connection within the company. Talk about looking more than stupid. I could not have made up something more ridiculous than this. After all of Bush's talk about terrorism, this is amazing. So the winner this week is the head of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff. Have you ever heard of him before?
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:11 AM | Comments (1)
February 13, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Feb. 13 - Dick Cheney
I had a couple of other candidates in mind for this week's award until Dick did his dirty deed. Nothing like shooting an old friend to win you a Fumble Award. Perhaps prominent attorney Harry Whittington mentioned something about leaks, or secrecy, or wiretaps or something else which set Dick off, who knows. Perhaps it really was an accident. The real fumble however, is not the accidental shooting, though that is big news, but the decision by the White House to try to bury the story and not let it get out. (E&P)
More secrecy discovered adds up to another loss of yardage for the White House. Given the President's poll numbers one would think that they would try a different tactic, like truth. It might even score them a few points.
E&P has learned that the official confirmation of the shooting came about only after a local reporter in Corpus Christi, Texas, received a tip from the owner of the property where the shooting occured and called Vice President Cheney's office for confirmation.
The confirmation was made but it is not known for certain that Cheney's office, the White House, or anyone else intended to announce the shooting if the reporter, Jaime Powell of the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, had not received word from the ranch owner.
One of Powell's colleagues at paper, Beth Francesco, told E&P that Powell had built up a strong source relationship with the prominent ranch owner, Katharine Armstrong, which led to the tip.
"White House aides can be expected to say that the Vice President did not shoot Whittington, which suggests a bullet, but rather sprayed him with birdshot, a type of ammunition made up of tiny pieces of lead or steel," Time predicted.
On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune's James wrote on the Washington bureau's blog at the newspaper's site, "When a vice president of the U.S. shoots a man under any circumstance, that is extremely relevant information. What might be the excuse to justify not immediately making the incident public?"
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:11 AM | Comments (1)
February 6, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Bill Leavy
We move outside of the pure political arena to present this week's Fabulous Fumble Award to Bill Leavy, referee at this year's Super Bowl, who creatively called Sean Locklear for holding while Matt Hasselback hit Jerramy Stephens on a pass play to the one yard line. Assuming the Seahawks scored they would have taken the lead with about 10 minutes left in the game.
Granted everyone makes mistakes, but this was bigger than big, especially coming from someone who it supposed to be one of the best referees in the NFL. In fact the officating was absolutely horrible from a Seattle perspective. I cannot remember when so many bad calls favored one team. It was very embarrassing. And Bill Leavy was the number one embarrassment of all.
Posted by Chip Spear at 5:45 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - President George
We don't like to pick on our President too much, however he does fumble so much that we can't help ourselves. Personally I think he does have a disarming sense of humor. I loved his comment during last week's press conference about wearing helmets while the camera was hanging down. That was pretty funny. What was not funny was his statement accusing the state of Louisiana and the city of New Orleans of not having any sort of reconstruction plan. This occurred shortly after his administration rejected a plan proposed by La. Representative Baker and supported by (NYT)
But the Bush administration refuses to support the plan of Representative Richard Baker, Republican of Louisiana, which would give everyone the capacity to rebuild and which had the backing of the mayor, the governor and the state's Congressional delegation. (To add insult to injury, two days after the White House shot down Mr. Baker's proposal, President Bush suggested at a news conference that Louisiana's problem was the lack of a plan.)
Instead of an alternate solution, the president's Katrina czar, Donald Powell, has offered sleight of hand, touting $6.2 billion in development money for Louisiana passed last year by Congress as if it were somehow a substitute. And in an attempt to narrow the scope of the problem, Mr. Powell says the government first needs to care for the roughly 20,000 homeowners without flood insurance who lived outside the federally designated flood plain. The real tally of destroyed or damaged homes in the region is well over 200,000. And the real need is housing for residents, whether they were renters or owners, insured or uninsured, living above the flood plain or trusting the federal government's levees to protect them from storms.
In addition, NPR reported last week that many residents have no idea where to go for help. Federal, State and local agencies are not coordinating actions or funding. People are confused. Hurricane Katrina created the worst natural disaster in our nation's history. If there were ever a time for the Federal government to step up to the plate and take control of the game, this is it. There are no excuses. For the President to say that he has never seen a plan two days after rejecting such a plan earns our dear leader this week's Fabulous Fumble Award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:33 AM | Comments (2)
January 23, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Chris Matthews
Chris Matthews wins this past week's Fabulous Fumble award for his statements comparing administration critic Michael Moore and Osama Bin Laden. I wrote a short entry last week, and don't want to repeat what I already wrote, but suffice it to say that the comparison is highly inappropriate no matter what one's political persuasion. Michael Moore does not run a terrorist organization, has not planned and executed an attack that killed over 3000 Americans, plus destroyed some rather significant real estate. Mr. Matthews said that we, the public, misconstrued him. I ask, "Whose fault is that?" Perhaps you should have been more precise in your description.
Congratulations on your win, Chris.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:57 PM | Comments (1)
January 13, 2006
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Jan. 13 - Sen. Mike DeWine
I wish I was a funny as Jon Stewart. Last night he had a running clock tracking the amount of time that various blowhards spent before asking Supreme Court nominee Sam Alito a question. Mike DeWine won, talking over 9 minutes. What an idiot. I realize that it is not the end of the week, and there is still time for another winner, but this was too good to pass up. I will say that Joe Biden, who has spent 50 minutes "asking" questions to Alito's 18 minutes answering came in a very close second. I couldn't decide if the one question thing outweighed the cumulative totals. I decided on the single question in this case.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:24 AM | Comments (3)
January 3, 2006
Political Sports Fumbler of the Year - 2005
President George W. Bush wins this year's Fumbler of the Year Award. Many on the right might disagree with this choice, after all he is the President of the good, old, United States of America, but let's consider his year. Political success is not only measured in terms of accomplishments but how one scores against the other team. In that sense he has had many, many mishaps. His poll numbers have dropped precipitously throughout the year. He lost major yardage when the press finally started to question all the misleading statements about our reasons for going to war in Iraq. Then there was the issue of outing Valerie Plame. He said he would fire anyone who was involved in any way. He hasn't done that, in fact, one can say he lied because he changed his story to firing anyone convicted of outting Plame, which is significantly different. We have the Katrina disaster, much of it brought about by his policies of appointing unqualified friends to important government posts. Add to this the torture problems at Abu Ghahib and Guantanamo, plus the revelations of secret "torture" prisons in former Soviet Gulags, the recent warrantless wiretap revelations and threats to civil rights, the problems with his Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, and you have some very serious problems that has helped his opponents and weakened his own Republican team.
Many of these problems and "fumbles" transcend partisan politics. I can't believe that one can actually think we have done a good job running the war in Iraq and managing the transition to democracy. The U.S. is held in contempt in much of the world right now, based in no small degree by his policies. We have no long range energy plan to deal with the obvious problems with oil.More than 45 milllion Americans are without health insurance. And the discrepancy between rich and poor, or extremely rich and everyone else is accelerating instead of slowing down. The terms "uniter not a divider" and "compassionate conservative" are nowhere in evidence. The President and his staff clearly understood they were treading on exceedingly shakey ground with regard to wiretaps, yet they decided to act unilaterally instead of working closely with Congress, controlled by their own party, to resolve any potential legal and technical issues with existing law.
I have only touched the surface here, but the point is that the President has an enormous opportunity to do great things, to heal wounds and make people's lives significantly better. He has chosen to reward his political supporters rather than move the country in direction to prepare it for a better future. The issue of Iraq is still in question. There is certainly a possibility that his war will start to transform the Middle East. It is way to early to tell. However his methods are definitely questionable and have only served to increase frustration and anger factor in an increasingly contentious country.
Posted by Chip Spear at 1:28 PM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2005
The Biggest Errors of the Year
For the rest of the week I shall be listing some of the biggest errors of the 2005. We start with the National Pastime.
Rafael Palmiero, Mark McGuire and Major League Baseball sure dropped the ball in the Congressional Steroid hearing. McGuire had a chance to do the right thing, admit steriod use, apologize and get on with his life, instead he clearly lied, damaged his reputation and hurt baseball. Palmiero is a joke. Does anyone really believe that he had no idea how those steroids got into his system? Not me. The guy should be behind bars, period. I know it is impossible to prove without doubt in a court that he lied, but my grandpappy always told me that if it walks like a duck, quacks like and duck and looks like a duck, it is a duck.
And then there is Major League Baseball. Thank goodness they acquiesed to some sort of testing, but it is way too little. No steriods, ever, end of story. Cheating is cheating. Anyone caught should be tossed. One chance, two chances, three chances is a bunch of crap. Gone man, they should be gone first time. That would end the nonsense mighty fast.
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)
December 27, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Dec. 26 - Jeanine Pirro
I don't think there was anyone else who screwed up their career more than Jeanine F. Pirro, the longtime Westchester County district attorney. A rising star in the NY Republican Party, many thought she had an almost unlimited future. However her actions over the past couple of months and last week specifically, left that promising future in doubt. Jeanine Pirro was intent on challenging Sen. Clinton in next year's election. Republicans in the state wanted her to run for Attorney General, a seat they felt she could win. They did not think she could beat Senator Clinton. The Party leadership was not anxious to spend political capital and large amounts of cash on an unwinnable seat. They also wanted to position Pirro for a better position in the future. I believe they reasoned that a losing Senate campaign would hurt her and them more than help. I also believe that Ms. Pirro's ambitions were getting the better of her, in that she was determined to go after the higher profile position now rather than wait for a more opportune moment.
Her actions antagonized many within the Republican Party. They didn't like her blatant ambition at the expense of party plans. Many now see her as being disingenuous and an opportunist now that she acceded to leadership demands. What position does she really want? Why vote for her as AG if it was something she wants only because of outside pressure? Her waffling and questionable actions earns her this weeks Fabulous Fumble Award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:06 PM | Comments (5)
December 19, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Dec. 18 - The U.S. Military
Determining this week's Fabulous Fumble Award proved extremely difficult. How do you decide between the Iraqi security forces having Zarqawi in their possession then letting him go, and the revelation that the U.S. Military was shipping dead soldiers home from Iraq as freight on domestic airlines. Both are very sizeable screw-ups, but I decided after incredibly insightful, thought that the shipment of corpses on domestic flights was the winner. The Iraqi security forces are new, undisciplined, and prone to mistakes due in large part to inexperience and/or corruption. In this case we don't know which played a bigger role. Obviously the U.S. would love to have Zarqawi in one of our prisions instead of running around causing all sorts of trouble. Mistakes happen and this was probably one of those.
Shipping dead soldiers on domestic flights was no mistake. It was a conscious decision to save some money. Unfortunately it treats the dead servicemen and women with extreme disrespect. It is bad enough that our soldiers are fighting a war on false pretenses. The administration has made a point of hiding the dead from any press, fearing media attention. The President never goes to funerals. It makes one think that the government is ashamed of its war and the price we pay. This serves as one more example of an administration who will not live up to its responsibilities through honest, respectful actions.
Posted by Chip Spear at 3:31 PM | Comments (0)
December 13, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Dec. 13 - Condi Rice
This weeks Fabulous Fumble award goes to Secretary of State Condi Rice for her comments in Europe regarding U.S. torture policy. Given all the factual evidence of U.S. torture tactics, she tried to deny that the U.S. uses torture, she said that the government might have made some mistakes in the past, but that it was no longer grabbing terrorist suspects and flying them to undisclosed locations for the purposes of torture.
Rice has refused to answer directly whether the United States keeps terrorist suspects in detention centers that violate European legal and human rights guarantees. She assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday that the United States would work to rectify any mistakes it has made in its war on terror.
Reports of secret prisons have roiled Europe for a month. Rice has asserted that the United States acts within the law and tried to argue that the Europeans are safer because of tough U.S. tactics.
The BBC reports:
Ms Rice's first stop is Germany, where parliament has demanded to know the purpose of more than 400 flights, run by the US military, that landed or passed through German airspace.
She will also visit Romania - where human rights groups allege a detention centre may have been located - and Brussels.
On Monday, human rights group Amnesty International said that six planes used by the CIA for renditions had made 800 flights in EU airspace, including 50 landings at Shannon airport in the Republic of Ireland.
Ms Rice told Ireland last week that Shannon airport had not been used for "anything untoward".
In some ways she is in a no win situation. She can't admit that the U.S. tortures prisoners, and she doesn't want to admit that the U.S. has secret detention facilities spread throughout the world. Flat denials only create added problems for an administration that has lost almost all credibility. The White House has to find a new strategy if it is to regain any support from the American public, otherwise it is doomed to more embarrassing losses.
Posted by Chip Spear at 8:40 AM | Comments (1)
December 5, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Dec. 5 - Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter wins this week's Fabulous Fumble Award for posting personal information on her web site of Actress/Activist Lydia Cornell, who was guest blogging on Brad's Blog here. I suppose one could say that Ann's indiscretion was minor, however she is a national figure and does carry a great deal of influence within some media outlets and her right wing base. Her actions, based on hate and anger, exemplify much that is wrong with American politics, where many Americans find it increasingly difficult to respect dissenting political opinions. It is most unfortunate that more people, especially those on the right, don't condemn her. In the long run, we all lose. It still amazes me how attractive hate is to so many, many people. That is a true shame. And to think that such a pretty package covers such bitter, angry, spiteful hate. Perhaps that is the bigger shame. I feel sorry for her.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:22 AM | Comments (2)
November 28, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Nov. 28 - Jean Schmidt
Jean Schmidt, no one else comes close, this fine week. Actually that might not be true, Bill Richardson was in the running for his denial of being drafted by the Oakland A's. Really Bill, what aspiring athlete ever forgets being drafted by a professional team? Anyway, Jean, what a ding dong. Political debate is a good thing. One hopes that it makes us all think a little more about finding the best solutions to our problems. However, indiscriminate name-calling from supposedly educated people, especially when it is wrong is inexcusable. What was she thinking? Or perhaps she wasn't, which was the problem. Like many in the current administration, she accused those critical of the President's Iraq policies as being weak, un-American and unpatriotic, if there is a difference. The problem is that she picked on the wrong opponent. John Murtha is a highly decorated veteran, one who was held in high regard for quite some time by the Vice President himself.
Schmidt - decked out in a red-white-and-blue suit that resembled the U.S. flag - went to the floor and quoted from a telephone conversation with Bubp: "He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course."
"He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message: That cowards cut and run, Marines never do."
She seemed to spend most of the remainder of the week backing away from her statement, saying she never meant to personally desparage Congressman Murtha. Ah, the backpedaling.... Her comments win her this week's Fabulous Fumble of the Week. Congratulations Jean.
Posted by Chip Spear at 12:37 PM | Comments (1)
November 15, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Nov. 14 - Pat Robertson
Last week was special. There were so many fumbles that we actually had a very hard time determining which one was most deserving of our award. Some weeks the play is hard, with few mistakes, but not this past week. Who would it be, Hadley, Robertson, O'Reilly, Santorum, Frist? It was a hard choice. Even the Pres was in the running again. How many times can you run the same play (his Veteran's Day speech) before it becomes ridiculous?
After much reflection, discussion, argument, dice rolling and dart throwing we came to the conclusion that our pal Pat should win this week's award. Pat said,
Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson warned residents of a rural Pennsylvania town Thursday that disaster may strike there because they "voted God out of your city" by ousting school board members who favored teaching intelligent design.
All eight Dover, Pa., school board members up for re-election were defeated Tuesday after trying to introduce "intelligent design" - the belief that the universe is so complex that it must have been created by a higher power - as an alternative to the theory of evolution.
"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."
I guess this guy has a brain, and many people think he is smart, and has meaningful things to say. They believe him, hold him in high regard, feel that he will provide them with guidance to a better self and more peaceful world. Wow, it is hard to believe. In non-Presidential elections, especially when there is no large state election, voter turnout is low. The four districts in Dover had voter turnout of 40, 40, 35 and 23 percent. So because of those numbers, Mr. Robertson, who has a direct connection to God, unlike the rest of us, contends all the good citizens of Dover may expect disaster. This would include all the folks who didn't and couldn't vote, like children, the sick, folks who couldn't get to the polls, those that forgot, or whatever. It is a good thing he has a Christian heart. This is an award that Pat truly deserves, you win our Fabulous Fumble of the Week.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:15 AM | Comments (6)
November 8, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Nov. 7 - George Bush
It is hard to decide whether George wins our Fabulous Fumble award this week for his disasterous trip to South America, where he seemed to alienate the continent and get upstaged by an aging soccer star and a politician adhering to old, failed, political agendas, or implementing an Ethics class for White House employees. I tend to think the Ethics class is funnier and better. Presented by Bush, Andrew Card, the Chief of Staff, and Harriet Miers (remember her?), Bush is requiring all White House employees to review ethical issues related to their jobs, including security. Since all the security issues, and the deceptions, including the energy commission, the war, appointments and the like center around Donald Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush, I wonder if they are going to take the course? Or is this another example of the underlings getting left to pick up the pieces, like with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Not one senior official was considered responsible, only the riff raff.
We have an administration that came into office promising to restore honesty and dignity to the Presidency. Five years into the administration, the environment is so corrupt and misguided that the White House resorts to having ethics lessons to teach employees the difference between right and wrong, and regain political standing. I have no facts to support my case, but given the history, if I had the cash I am sure I could win a lot of money betting that Bush, Cheney, Rove, Addington and Card will not be attending. It is also hard to believe that this is anything other than a political stunt designed to score some points with the country rather than bring about any substantive changes in White House operations. I think that the media and the country will understand that this latest announcement is nothing more than a fake handoff, is not going to gain any yardage, and is destined as a Fabulous Fumble.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:04 AM | Comments (3)
November 1, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Oct. 31 - Trent Lott
We had a hard time choosing a worthy candidate for our Fabulous Fumble of the Week Award. Scooter Libby seemed an obvious choice, but most of his fumbles actually occurred months and years ago. He greatest fumble was probably not learning from the master of deception and evasion, Karl Rove, who never seems to get caught. However, after great debate we decided that Trent Lott is our winner for his comment:
I want the president to look across the country and find the best man, woman, or minority that he can find.
I guess a minority does not qualify as a man or woman. By definition then they aren't even human. I think that Southern Republicans have enough problems with the racist tag, they don't need any additional help from Senator Lott. Congratulations Trent for winning our Fabulous Fumble Award.
Posted by Chip Spear at 2:35 PM | Comments (2)
October 28, 2005
He is What He is
Quote from Trent Lott:
I want the president to look across the country and find the best man, woman, or minority that he can find.
Just a little Freudian slip there. This is in the running for Fabulous Fumble of the Week.
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:31 AM | Comments (2)
October 24, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Oct. 24 - Harriet Miers
Harriet, Harriet, how in the world could you have so badly answered the Senate Judiciary Questionnaire that they had to send it back to you for a "redo"?
Given that the nomination is coming under heavy criticism with many people doubting her qualifications for a position on the Court, it seems amazingly stupid to not take extreme care with all interactions with Congress. In this case she really should have had a team of advisers review the questionnaire before sending it back to the Committee. Now, she has put herself in a deeper hole on defense and provided the opposition with all sorts of opportunities to score points.
Posted by Chip Spear at 10:51 AM | Comments (1)
October 16, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week, Oct. 16 - George and The White House
Watch the video here
One would think that after all the problems that the President has had over the past couple of months that he and the White House would be a bit more careful about deceiving the American public. The teleconference, the denial by McClellan that it was scripted, then the proof that it clearly was scripted, was a massive fumble for the President.
Scott McClellan was asked whether the teleconference the president had with troops in Tikrit was scripted. Here's what he said ...
QUESTION: How were they selected, and are their comments to the president pre-screened, any questions or anything...
MCCLELLAN: No.
QUESTION: Not at all?
MCCLELLAN: This is a back-and-forth.
Here's how the pool reporter, from the designated reporter on the scene, described the event.
The soldiers, nine U.S. men and one U.S. woman, plus an Iraqi, had been tipped off in advance about the questions in the highly scripted event. Allison Barber, deputy assistant to the Secretary of Defense for internal communication, could be heard asking one soldier before the start of the event, "Who are we going to give that [question] to?"
You might think that they would just stop it, stop the nonsense and play straight, for a while at least. However maybe this sort of activity is so ingrained in their psyche that they can't act any other way.
Posted by Chip Spear at 11:24 AM | Comments (2)
October 10, 2005
Fabulous Fumble of the Week - Bill Bennett
Political Sports offers a new feature this week called Fabulous Fumble of the Week. Inspired by Bill Bennett's thoughtful comments regarding blacks and crime on his syndicated radio talk show.
"If you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country and your crime rate would go down.
"That would be an impossibly ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but your crime rate would go down," he said.
We feel that Mr. Bennett comments warranted a whole new award. Given the current political climate and flurry of ridiculous political activity I think that we will be able to make this a weekly award, we shall see. Back to Bill though, whether the comment has any validity or not, it was an amazingly dumb thing to say, considering racism and problems that blacks have with the legal system in this country. As a major player with the conservative, Republicans, he really hurt the team with his play at a time when they need all the help they can get.
Posted by Chip Spear at 6:34 PM | Comments (2)